"That's it?" Jhaben looked blankly at Deltos, who was lying nearby digesting his dessert, and reached out to touch the empty indentation on his forehead, feeling as if he were dreaming.
He had thought Lord Lynd would need to perform some important ritual, using extremely complex methods to repeatedly test it dozens of times before the hidden danger on his body could be resolved, but he never expected it to be so simple; the hidden danger disappeared just by letting that strange giant dragon sniff him. He felt nothing throughout the process, only a slight relief after the hidden danger vanished.
Compared to Jhaben, Master Quellier, as an observer, saw more clearly. He saw a small stream of black light erupt from Deltos's mouth when it approached Jhaben's head, looking like some magic from a Dark Warlock or Shadowbinder. It covered the indentation on Jhaben's forehead, then pulled out and consumed the Dark Warlock's magic within the indentation.
He had carefully examined the black light on Jhaben's head before and knew how dangerous it was. It was no exaggeration to say that once the magic within the black light was released and amplified by Asshai's unique environment, no living creature within a dozen meters of him would have any chance of survival.
This was also why, even though Jhaben was incredibly weak at the moment, he could still remain safe in Asshai, not being sought out by his former enemies or captured and experimented on by some Dark Warlock coveting his spellcasting secrets.
"Check yourself and see if there are any other problems," Lord Lynd said to Jhaben after inquiring with Deltos through their mental link. "The hidden danger caused by the Dark Warlock's magic backlash on your body should have been eliminated. You can now continue to use dark magic, but I don't recommend it, because the Asshai curse still exists. The more you use magic, the deeper the curse becomes. The best solution is to leave Asshai; once you leave Asshai, the curse will naturally cease to exist."
Although he had already felt the changes in his body and touched the indentation on his forehead, his suspicious nature prevented him from fully trusting Lord Lynd's words. He still used his own methods to thoroughly examine his body.
While Jhaben was examining himself, Lord Lynd was not idle. He turned to Master Quellier and asked, "I came to Asshai this time for Euron Greyjoy. As far as I know, he should have already arrived in Asshai. Can you help me find out his whereabouts?"
"Euron Greyjoy?" Master Quellier thought for a moment and said, "I've heard of him. He's said to be a very powerful pirate. Can you describe what he looks like?"
Lord Lynd nodded and generally described Euron's appearance and the image of his ship.
"Ah! I've seen him." As soon as Lord Lynd finished speaking, Master Quellier immediately provided a clue, saying, "A few days ago, this person appeared at the docks and then searched for a guide to the Shadow Lands in the city. It's said he wanted to go to Styria, the corpse city."
Upon hearing this, Lord Lynd eagerly asked, "Did he find a guide?"
"He already found one," Master Quellier replied. "He found Master Qimier, the Shadowbinder, and they departed two days ago. If they traveled quickly, they should have already reached the tail end of the Ash River by now."
"They've already departed?" Lord Lynd frowned and instructed, "Immediately find me a guide in Asshai City. I also need to go to Styria."
Master Quellier looked troubled and said, "My Lord, that might be difficult. It seems only Master Qimier in all of Asshai can enter the latter part of the Ash River. Others can only go as far as the front part of the Ash River…"
"Who says only Master Qimier can enter the latter part of the Ash River?" Before Master Quellier could finish speaking, Jhaben, who had finished checking his body, interjected, "I've also been to the latter part of the Ash River and even entered Styria, but the monsters there are too dangerous, so I didn't go deep. Lord Lynd, I can be your guide and guarantee that I can get you through the Ash River smoothly."
"Indeed, you, Jhaben, are indeed the best guide," Master Quellier also nodded in agreement, but then worried, "It's just that your current body makes it difficult to even stand normally. Can you travel? The Ash River's path is not easy."
Jhaben froze, a troubled expression appearing on his face. Although his Dark Warlock magic backlash had been resolved, the physical mutations caused by the backlash had not disappeared. It was still very difficult for his body to move normally and would require a long period of exercise to possibly recover.
Lord Lynd, however, said indifferently, "You don't need to worry about walking. Deltos can carry you in the air. What you need to worry about is safety." He paused, looked at Jhaben, and continued, "If we're lucky, we can intercept them halfway, so there's no problem. But if we're unlucky and can't catch up to them, then we'll need to enter Styria City. In that case, you might have to stay outside the city. Although Deltos should also stay outside the city then, it will fly into the air to provide me with help at any time. You would need to stay outside the city alone. If Styria is really as dangerous as rumored, then you…"
Jhaben said with extreme confidence, "Please rest assured, although I cannot compare to my peak condition now, self-preservation outside Styria City is not a big problem."
"In that case, let's depart now. Perhaps we can intercept Euron on the way, so we won't need to enter Styria City." Lord Lynd no longer tried to persuade Jhaben. He turned and stepped onto Deltos's wing, returning to the dragon saddle, then motioned for Jhaben to stand still and let Deltos grasp him.
Although Jhaben had a giant-like body, his actual weight was not much heavier than that of an ordinary person, so his body was also very fragile. Deltos needed to apply force very carefully to avoid injuring him.
After grasping Jhaben, Lord Lynd suddenly thought of something. He took out a gem necklace from his pocket, threw it to Master Quellier, and said, "This necklace is a new invention by Malora and her group. It can help mages cast spells more smoothly and reduce their reliance on spellcasting mediums. It might be useful to you."
Master Quellier quickly caught the necklace, looked at it, and did not immediately discern its efficacy, but he was still extremely grateful for Lord Lynd's gift. If Lord Lynd were still standing before him, he would surely kneel again and kiss Lord Lynd's instep to show his reverence.
Under Lord Lynd's command, Deltos spread its wings, trotted for a distance, and then flew into the air. However, this time, it did not fly high, but rather skimmed low over the rooftops of Asshai City, arriving at the dock area outside Asshai City.
Soon, Lord Lynd saw Euron's ship docked at the pier. He immediately ordered Deltos to fly over and, under everyone's watchful eyes, spew a stream of dragonfire, igniting Euron's ship and burning the walking dead inside along with it.
While destroying Euron's ship, Lord Lynd also saw a very dilapidated and old ship docked at the edge of the pier. Logically, this ship should have been destroyed or dismantled, but the Asshai people did not do so; instead, they preserved it, and there were even some protective railings around it, indicating that the Asshai people held this ship in great respect.
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